More Judges Speak Out Against Egyptian President

AFP/Getty Images(CAIRO) — They’re not exactly demonstrating in the streets, but a handful of Egyptians still struck another blow on Wednesday against what critics say is President Mohammed Morsi’s attempt to consolidate power.

Morsi’s move last week to operate without judicial oversight has led liberals and other groups to call for massive protests. Meanwhile, the Court of Cassation, the nation’s highest appeals court, has effectively gone on strike to show its displeasure with the president.

Morsi, who insists the action is only temporary, was also accused by Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court on Wednesday of conducting a full-out assault on the justice system.

One of the chief reasons the judges are at odds with the president is that many were appointees of former leader Hosni Mubarak, who was deposed during the Arab Spring in February 2011.

Yet, there are large numbers of Mubarak’s opponents who don’t support Morsi either, particularly since his Muslim Brotherhood-controlled constitution-drafting assembly is set to deliver a draft of the document Thursday that would be put up for a nationwide vote.

Doing so amid the current crisis will only make matters worse, critics contend, because they allege that such a constitution is bound to reflect the will of strict Islamists.